Super Star Rocker!!

 I know it’s been a few days since the last post. Our apologies for those checking back every day to find nothing. Tuesday we took Jonah out for an adventure. That proved to be a little much for the little man. Swelling started and he has been chilling ever since.  He received a few get well gifts, his favorite by far has been….  Drum sticks. He has been drumming either in his tablet or his practice pads ALL DAY LONG!  We have to force him to take breaks when he starts to fall asleep. Much like a tired baby falls asleep in the high chair. 

His humor remains the same and finds the funny side of things when he can. His pain is manageable as long as he remains in his pain meds. We have been able to decrease from 2 every four hours to 1 every eight hours or so. 

He is starting to sleep more each night. Last night he had a solid 6 hours before the pain woke him.

The big worry the last few days is when is his stomach going to wake up and start moving things along. With no bowel movements in 3 days we began to worry and called in the experts. He is getting back to regular now so that worry has passed. The rest of the family is doing well. We had a cousin come down for a visit. Jonah gave the typical 3 minutes of entertainment and then asked if he could be excused to drum. 

David, grandma, & I decided to tackle a project today in replacing a shut-off valve. It went well until it didn’t. The valve replacement was smooth. Then the thought of maybe we should replace the one next to it now while we have made a hole in the sheet rock. That proved to be the wrong decision!!  That project sprung open faster and harder than a spring snake shooting out if a can!!  To keep the story short, three trips to the plumbing store, and an additional three to Home Depot and 7 hours later the valves are replaced with no leaks!!!   

Jonah was a trooper through it all as the noise levels were kept at a minimum. Especially when he needed to use the bathroom. He pleasantly reported that he could poop in peace!  

Love you all!!  Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers!!!

Miraculous!!!

 

This is the face of yet another miracle! This kiddo is going home today!  Grandma Raine stayed the night with him last night and reports he had a much better night than the previous. Yesterday afternoon he started on oral pain meds and has been able to stay comfortable! The real challenge may be to keep him from trying to weight bear on his right hip for the next 6 weeks!

Well ahead of schedule

 Jonah has had a very productive day in the eyes of the surgeon and residents (The Slaves) as Jonah likes to tease them. They said he is doing much better than the average compared to those with the same surgery. 

It’s funny and frustrating at the same time that as long as it is he and I the complaining about pain is not mentioned.   As soon as a new person walks in the Jonah show starts and  he tries to and get what he wants…. to go home to his own house! I can’t blame him. Who likes to be cooped up  in the hospital!?!

He still is in and out of his daze asking questions like “where’s the kitchen?”  Or “Why am I in Portsmouth?” They are getting fewer and farther apart. The doctors have canceled all the IV meds and have started him on the dosing and meds he will be with at home. 

We have begun the 6 hours of movement each day using a machine that will bend his knee and hip while he sits or is laying down. For now he is content to lay in his bed and and drum on the tablet and listen to Kiss to pass the time. 

Jonah continues to have a positive attitude and keeps the doctors in their toes and in stitches.  This morning while asking him questions about urinating and bowel movements. He said, “ I am proudly farting and not ashamed to share it!”  The resident was a little shocked, but the rest of the crew were doubled over laughing trying to not drop the clip boards. 

So what does coming home look like?  Well that will be a post for another day. Until then, we are happy to let Jonah stay in the hospital and become adjusted to the medicine regime for pain for 24 hours so we don’t have to make any emergency visits back to the hospital for pain management!  

Thank you to everyone who has checked in on us!  It is a nice break to have while we hang out in the hospital. When trying to talk with Jonah we get in a few minutes of conversation, then we get dismissed by him asking, “Can I drum now?”  

The family will be excited

Dazed and Confused!

 

What a long night it was! The pain medication Jonah is receiving must be working very well. He seemed to be half awake and half asleep all night, and he was very confused. He kept thinking that he was already at home and he wanted access to his electric guitar. Finally at 2 AM. I heard a commotion as I was attempting to get a little bit of sleep, and Jonah had made his way to the end of the bed and had swung his feet over the edge ready to stand up. I quickly got put back to bed and ask him what he thought he was doing. He told me he was going to walk across the room and fix himself a Nutella pancake. 

Dr. Rocketman was very pleased with the progress he’s making. So return on the terms and was trying to convince Hurst he needed to go home today. I told her I was not in a  hurry to take him home. I would like to have him on the pain meds. They will send us home with for 24 hours to make sure that it sufficient. The last thing I want to do is rush to get him home only then to turn around and have to come back for one reason or another.

Caleb is playing baseball this morning and Hannah is pitching her first softball game! Once all of that is wrapped up for the day they plan on making a visit here to see Jonah and I will finally get to go home and get some restful sleep.

Pancakes and a loooong night ahead

 Jonah is pretty strong out on pain meds. As a result he has hounded every single person to bring him some pancakes. Grandma Raine to the rescue! A trek to IHOP and this kiddo was satisfied!  The medication is keeping him quite confused and though he seems to be asleep he’s holding full, very confusing, conversations. I’ve been laughing until I was crying. I’m sure it isn’t all that funny but when I’m completely exhausted everything gets funnier. 

Goodnight;

Tanya

Started waking up… and settled in!

2: Once Jonah was fully awake he couldn’t get to his private room quick enough!

 

1: This guy is such a trooper!!! Walking up from anesthesia was a challenge but we made it!

Hallelujah!

 We just got word that the procedure is done and they are closing it up. We’re told that the pelvis was challenging but went well. They did NOT have to touch the fermur!!!

GOD is so GOOD!

4 hours in…

 We just got another phone call update on Jonah. He’s still doing well, his doctor is still working on the first procedure which is his hip. We still don’t know if she will have to go through with the femur portion. They will either call us again in two hours with another update or Someone will come out in person before that time if they’re finished. 

2 hours in…

 We just got the 2 hour update. Things are going well! Expect another update in 2 hours. 

1st Update

 I just got my first update from the O R. Jonah’s sedation went smoothly and they were starting to drape his hip in preparations to start. The hip portion will take roughly 4 hours. If needed the femur portion takes another hour. Initially Dr. Rocchi expected to do both parts but the CT scan showed that the femur was not as bad as she suspected!

This X-ray was taken a couple months ago. The yellow highlights show his good hip. The blue line is the option of the hip there are going to cut in three places, reposition those pieces into a nice C shape like the yellow side. They’ll use plates and pins to hold it all together. If needed, they will cut the top of the Fermin at the green line, and rotate the top portion 15-ish degrees clockwise then pin it bay together.

Rockstar

 

This is Jonah’s pediatric orthopedic surgeon Dr. Rocchi (sounds like Rockie)

Jonah was an absolute rockstar this morning!  He remained calm from the time we arrived (5:45) until he was taken back to the OR at 8:00.  He did an excellent job of advocating for himself to ensure he got what he needed! The folks here at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth have been fabulous!

My Brave, Brave Boy!

Check out Jonah’s new “Harry Potter” glasses!  This is the first time Jonah has taken a real interest in choosing his glasses and I love his new look!

My wonderful mother “Grandma Raine” arrived safely from Utah. I’m truly grateful that she is able/willing to come help for the next 3 weeks!

 Last night we had a few dear friends arrive to give Jonah a blessing and lots of love and encouragement. We are so blessed to have our Virginia “Framily”. Having their support makes doing difficult things much easier.

We appreciate everyone’s support and prayers!

The calm before the storm

I resigned my position at the elementary school three-ish weeks ago and since that time I have feverishly been trying to put things in order. It hit me today that the time is nearly passed. We are quite nearly to surgery time. This is by far the most invasive procedure Jonah has had to endure, but without completing the surgery, his quality of life only declines from here. Is with faith in my Savior, and the knowledge that he knows and cares for me and my family as individuals that I can submit to, the procedure which is to come. Your thoughts and prayers would be very much appreciated! 

Much love, Tanya